Mass. inquiry shows former partner took money from race track

Thursday

Jul 25, 2013 at 11:53 AM

BOSTON, Mass. -- Investigative records released Thursday by the Massachusetts Gaming Commission show a former partner in the Plainridge Racecourse track in nearby Plainville, Mass., took cash from the operation on an almost daily basis.

Paul Grimaldi Journal Staff Writer paulegrimaldi

BOSTON, Mass. -- Investigative records released Thursday by the Massachusetts Gaming Commission show a former partner in the Plainridge Racecourse track in nearby Plainville, Mass., took cash from the operation on an almost daily basis.

Gary Piontkowski resigned from the track ownership earlier in 2013 at the time citing "health" reasons for his decision.

The track is one of four applicants for a slots parlor operators license now under review by the commission. The commission hopes to award the license later this year, with the expectation a parlor could open in 2014.

The slots license will be the first of four gambling license the commission awards. The three others, for full resort-casino operations, will be awarded at later dates.

Once operating, the four Massachusetts licensees will begin siphoning revenue from gambling operations around New England and to a lesser extent, New York and Atlantic City, New Jersey. The closer a venue is to Massachusetts, the greater the impact is expected to be on it, according to various studies.

Twin River in Lincoln, which this summer began offering table games in addition to slots and simulcast betting, and Newport Grand, are considered to be the most vulnerable to the new competition. More than half of Twin River's gamblers come from Massachusetts.

The smaller Newport Grand, which only offers slots, also relies heavily on Massachusetts gamblers. Researchers and gambling industry consultants suggest the Newport venue will have difficulty surviving after a casino opens in Southeastern Massachusetts.